Different Traditions In Other Cultures example essay topic

He wears different clothes. She speaks a different language. Why do they do that? When you begin to think about cultures other than your own you tend to think of the things that set them apart from your own culture. Why do you think that is?

Is it because that is the way that we, as Americans, were brought up? Or is it simply the blindness that Americans as well as other cultures see towards other cultures that are much different than their own? Many people, as well as I, tend to make assumptions that may not always be accurate. But if a person shuts out any other possibility to a given situation it can cause great destruction to those involved like the destruction shown in The Gua Sha Treatment. In the Movie "The Gua Sha Treatment", misunderstanding is evident throughout the entire movie causing great destruction to a Chinese family due to the misunderstanding of another, or in this case Chinese, culture. In this essay I will attempt to illustrate how different traditions in other cultures can be misconstrued and misinterpreted from the eyes of a person that may not have ever been exposed to other cultures.

As Americans we see more cultural diversity than most countries. America is thought to be known as a "melting pot" signifying that America is composed of many people from many different cultural backgrounds as well as many different origins. If America is supposed to include such a wide variety of different cultures, then why are we so blind to things that we find unusual from our own culture? It can be clearly seen that we continue to criticize those who differ from ourselves. Do you view spanking or disciplining your child abuse? The main issue in this movie is the fact that Datong disciplines his son in public.

His son, Dennis, gets slapped across his head and there are many people there that witness it. Becuase Datong did this in public it allows the entire situation to escalade because it is mistaken for abuse in other peoples eyes. After this situation Dennis gets sick and his grandfather gives him a gua sha treatment, which is a very common Chinese remedy for people who are ill. After gua sha is administered, it leaves very distinct marks on a person's back, but it is completely painless. Dennis is later taken to the hospital, and the nurses and doctors examining him and find very large and distinct marks on his back that they believe are from abuse.

They immediately call social services and Dennis is then taken away from Datong and Jianing. At this point no one asked Dennis' parents what the marks were or where they came from. There was an immediate assumption that is was child abuse and that Datong and Jianing were abusing their son. This assumption is a very big deal in the United States and is taken very seriously. I believe that misunderstandings different cultures is a very big deal when it comes to things as serious as taking away a child from their home.

When the doctors took Dennis away from his parents, they also took away their faith in America. Datong and his wife had been living in America for several years now and have never thought anything like this could possibly ever happen. They felt like they had been a victim in a situation that was never fully investigated. This is a prime example of how a situation can be misunderstood and cause enormous problems due to the arrogance of others. Are we so fixated on our own culture that we are completely blind to even think that it could be viewed as something else in another culture?

I find that people are mistaken for things that they find foreign to what they are used to and this causes things to become misunderstood and misconstrued. This movie shows how easily things can be mistaken for something else in different cultures. This situation with Dennis having had the gau sha treatment done to him is a Chinese tradition which, as an American, I never knew existed. My void as well as the doctors caused this to become very misconstrued and ruined the lives of their family. Personally if I saw those marks on a child I would jump to the same conclusion that the doctors did and think it was child abuse.

Because many of us grew up as Americans, I think that we have not yet taken the time to look into other cultures as much as we should. I believe that every person should experience the lifestyle of other culture at least once in their lifetime. By doing this I believe that we would not be so quick to make assumptions about things, such as the gua sha treatment, that we are unfamiliar with. The doctors, Datong's best friend, the court judge as well as many others, didn't even know what the gua sha treatment was, yet they seemed like they already had their minds set once they saw the marks on Dennis' back. They strictly jumped to a conclusion that was inaccurate.

This inaccuracy could have ruined Datong's as well as his family's lives if Datong and Jianing were not so persistent in getting Dennis back. By watching this movie it shows how critical it is to not jump to conclusions especially if you in a higher position; such as a court judge or some kind of enforcement (in this case social services). Before a person can make a judgment on such a important issue of child abuse I think that the other culture should be heavily investigated to avoid any possibilities of being unfair or in this case wrong. In this movie it can be clearly seen that these people involved don't have any knowledge about the Chinese culture. In this movie you can learn that gua sha is a very common remedy that is used to help and heal people that are feeling ill. Gua sha is also demonstrated in this movie to better inform its viewers of what exactly gua sha is.

This movie not only illustrates what can happen when other cultures are misinterpreted but it also allows the viewers to better understand the Chinese culture. You can see this in the part where Datong best friend goes to his grandfather to receive gua sha. He is wondering about the Chinese culture and decides he wants to learn more. He goes and receives gua sha and now better understands the Chinese culture and what gua sha is.

When he first had no idea of what gua sha was he was very quick to assume that Dennis was being abused. But after he received gua sha he learned that it is not to harm a person but to heal them. There are many misunderstanding throughout this entire movie. Because of the diversity in cultures it is very hard to understand that different cultures have very different ways of dealing with things. In The Gua Sha Treatment, I have learned how severe it can be to make assumptions about a culture that I have never experienced. Assumptions can very easily misinterpret a situation and cause unneeded situations that only cause harm to someone.

In this movie I have learned that many people are blind to other cultures and therefore we should not be able to make decisions concerning issues we do not understand. By trying to make these kind of decisions it only makes that much more room for an error to occur.